Letting women serve in combat is the right direction: An editorial

Thousands of women have fought alongside men in Afghanistan and Iraq, yet they are unable to apply for most combat jobs. That unwarranted limit hinders their career advancement and their ability to serve the nation to the best of their abilities.

Kristin M. Hall, The Associated PressCapt. Sara Rodriguez of the 101st Airborne Division walks through the woods during expert field medical badge testing at Fort Campbell, Ky., on May 9. The Army is opening 14,000 combat positions to women.

The Army also will open jobs that until now have been completely closed to women, including rocket launcher crew members and mechanics for tanks and artillery.

These changes, although important, are modest. More than 250,000 military jobs will remain closed to women. The military must move rapidly to expand the jobs available to women. Military service shouldn't be defined by gender but by a willingness to make the necessary sacrifices and an ability to meet the requirements of the job.

Keeping women out of combat jobs affects their careers, because frontline service is essential for military advancement. It's also unfair. Kayla Williams was a military intelligence soldier attached to 101st Airborne Division combat team during the initial invasion of Iraq. She told The Associated Press that at first she didn't get plates for her ballistic vest "because females can't serve in combat," even though she was going out on patrols and living in combat outposts like her male counterparts.

Some critics argue that letting women into combat units will disrupt the unit cohesiveness and readiness. Those are the same tired arguments used once to try to prevent racial integration of combat units, or to try to keep women out of other physically strenuous jobs, both civilian and military.

As it allows more women in combat, the military also needs to do a better job to prevent sexual abuse and to prosecute the offenders.

But ensuring that women in the military are able to serve to their full capacity should remain the overarching goal, and the Army's new steps are a move in that direction.